Luna II spdif digital out is bad quality!!! Strange mini-jac

paynterr · Post by **paynterr** » Fri Nov 16, 2001 6:04 am

Hi there,
I'm a luna ii owner and I'm trying to resolve why I get appalling tinny quality when using the spdif out from the non-industry standard mini-jack.
I am using a reasonably old wire that I've had lying around for a while, but its not broken.
I am running the signal into a pair of digital active genelec speakers, yet the quality is dire, when I've had great analog quality before.
Does anyone have a similar experience...?
Is it the wire quality?
Is there something I need to set on the soundcard?
Ideas welcome?
Regards

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Fri Nov 16, 2001 8:47 am

I'm using a highquality SPDIF cable (I have heard some people say even a high quality RCA cable will do), conected to a little adapter which is about $3.99 from Guitar Center or similiar:

1/8" minijack to Left RCA, Right RCA.

One side is Stereo SPDIF input, the other is Stereo SPDIF output. I can run this in a digital loop, and compare the files, and they match bit-for-bit. So perhaps you have a master/slave setting incorrectly, or poor cabling.

krizrox · Post by **krizrox** » Fri Nov 16, 2001 10:31 am

I was having similar problems with a dbx 386 mic preamp - didn't work at all. I was able to get the S/PDIF I/O to work with a Line 6 Pod Pro unit though - sounded OK to me. Check your cabling. I was usuing a homemade adapter cable which seemed to work OK - nuthin' fancy.

Post by **garyb** » Sat Nov 17, 2001 12:13 am

cabling is very important...and often overlooked.as to the connector,it should have no bearing on sound quality.clock source however.......a likely culprit.

krizrox · Post by **krizrox** » Sat Nov 17, 2001 5:03 am

Clock source seems like a likely culprit. Oddly, the same dbx 386 preamp worked fine with my old tripleBoard SPDIF input. I'm getting very suspicious about Luna's digital IO's (MIDI and SPDIF). There's something not quite right about them. Equipment and software that worked flawlessly with tripleDAT/tripleBoard ain't working at all with Luna. It's not brain surgery.

paynterr · Post by **paynterr** » Sun Nov 18, 2001 9:16 am

I've tried a better cable, although a less-than-perfect adaptor and is seems better, if not perfect... hmm... maybe it's because on my old analog desk, I always liked eqíng the signal slightly, adding a bit of base... could be a combination of wire, lack of my own 'personal' eq and the fact that maybe I've not been used to hearing the digital signal in it's true form before, always altererd by my analog gear?
I spoke to a shop in london and they said that cabling is EVEN more important for digital. Bad anolog cables will simply add noise and not necessarily degrade the signal (within reason). However, the same cable used to carry digital can have all sorts of affects as bits are lost and sound quality deteriorates... hmm... be interested in anyone else's experience!
Cheers

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Sun Nov 18, 2001 10:02 am

Are you using a SPDIF cable?

paynterr · Post by **paynterr** » Sun Nov 18, 2001 3:31 pm

I'm not sure if it's an spdif cable per se, but the one I'm no using is a much higher quality cable than before, since I've found another mini jack adaptor. The sound quality is much better than before... is there a big difference (sorry - i'm not much of a cabling person!).
Be good to know your experience however? Is there a major difference?
Cheers

Havoc · Post by **Havoc** » Tue Nov 20, 2001 1:42 pm

In order to achieve a decent SPDIF connection you need 75 Ohm coax cable. This is the same stuff that is used for video. A normal RCA analog cable can be used for very short connections, but don't trust it.

paynterr · Post by **paynterr** » Wed Nov 21, 2001 12:50 am

... and then there is the issue of the mini-jack adaptor... I guess I need the best quality adaptor for that?

Post by **garyb** » Wed Nov 21, 2001 10:02 am

uh huh.